A Mood Apart: The Thinker's Guide to Emotion and Its Disorders [Paperback]

Peter C. Whybrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1998

"A compassionate exploration of depression and manic-depression."
-- Forecast

"The most thorough and wide-ranging discussion for lay readers about the interplay of the physical and emotional elements of depression and manic-depression... His presentation is illuminating, and the case histories demonstrate his sensitivity and skill as a clinician.... Whybrow's presentation offers a deeper understanding of, along with a humane and wise approach to these very troubling illnesses."
-- Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An excellent book. It reflects not only the depth and breadth of the author's scientific and clinical contributions to the study of moods, but captures, in a wonderful way, the crucial role of moods in human nature and society....Anyone interested in moods, or disorders of moods will find this an informative, important and engrossing book." -- Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind

About the Author

Peter Whybrow, M.D., is chairman of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Vice Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association. In 1996, he was awarded the Gerald L. Klerman Lifetime Research Award by the NDMDA. Dr. Whybrow has lectured extensively throughout Europe and the United States. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (February 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006097740X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060977405
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative and valuable piece of work, January 11, 2001

By 

john mahon (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mood Apart: The Thinker's Guide to Emotion and Its Disorders (Paperback)

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in manic depression, but who knows little about the subject. Dr. Whybrow explains the various social, psychological and in particular, biological factors that surround manic depression. I found the individual case studies the most interesting as they highlighted the human torture that ordinary people suffer through mental illness.

The author also explains how many of the now commonly known drugs - such as 'prozac' and 'lithium' - have done much to alleviate the plight of such people. For those wary of medical jargon, the author does detail the chemical processes in the brain that can cause/alleviate depression, but this only covers a relatively small section of the book. The book is comprehensively referenced and is very well written.

Overall and perhaps most importantly, Dr. Whybrow has written a book that has done alot to dispel the stigma associated with mental illness and if you have any interest in the subject I would urge you to read it.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review Apart, May 23, 2003

By 

David (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mood Apart: The Thinker's Guide to Emotion and Its Disorders (Paperback)

I whole heartedly agree with all of the other reviews. This book is tremendously insightful. I would like to add that this is not a book solely about bi-polar and manic depression. It is also about unipolar depression. I found that to read about all these types of depression together to be very insightful about my own place amongst all the variations. And this was a very interesting point made by the book that all these types of variables do occur in people without the dehabilitating forms of these illnesses. The form of the illness is not out of the ordinary, so to speak. Excellent book. Layered with insights into biology, psychology, history, genetics, and evolutionary adaptation.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, July 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Mood Apart: The Thinker's Guide to Emotion and Its Disorders (Paperback)

If someone were to ask me, "What scientist, by nature of their perspective, could ever understand the depths of humanity?" - I would pluck this book from my shelf and hand it to them. Whybrow truly investigates the subjective and the objective aspects of 'mood disorders' (in the clinical sense) and, by way of dialogue, synthesizes the two approaches into a singular perspective. He explores the emotional continuum - from mania to melancholia - in such a clear and concise fashion that anyone (scientist or humanist) can acquire knowledge, as well as wisdom, through Whybrow's book, A Mood Apart.